Brown spots appeared on the elbows. Dark skin on the elbows - what to do
Most of us do not even think about the fact that such a part of the body as the elbows needs care no less than the face, hair or hands. Why does the need for skin care in this area appear only when we notice dark spots on the elbows? This is fundamentally the wrong approach, because in the pursuit of excellence, every little thing must be taken into account.
Elbows take a lot of stress, as we often lean on them when we sit at a table. On the other hand, the skin in the elbow area is thin and does not contain sweat and sebaceous glands, and therefore has a tendency to dryness. Dark spots can appear on the elbows even under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, as well as for other reasons. Sometimes, along with spots on the elbows, small cracks and peeling appear. Thus, just using a body cream or lotion is not enough, regular skin care activities on the elbows are needed.
Reasons for the appearance
Why is there such an unpleasant phenomenon as dark spots on the elbows? Experts cite the following reasons:
- Malfunctions of the hormonal system of the body - dysfunction of the adrenal glands and hypothyroidism (disturbances in the thyroid gland). If you suspect that such a serious problem has affected you, be sure to go to an appointment with an endocrinologist who will prescribe all the necessary examinations.
- Avitaminosis (especially in spring and autumn) - the appearance of dark age spots may be due to a deficiency of vitamins A, B and E. So that your skin does not suffer from a lack of these vitamins, it is recommended to monitor your diet - it should contain cereals, healthy fats and carbohydrates , greens, eggs. Vitamin and mineral complexes can also be bought at any pharmacy.
- Fungal skin disease - in this case, the doctor will recommend you special antifungal drugs and ointments.
- Improper care or lack thereof - the elbows need systematic care, and if dark spots have already appeared, then you should try to get rid of them once and for all.
Recipes to get rid of dark spots
When you establish the causes of darkening of the skin, you can begin to eliminate them. Homemade recipes made from natural ingredients will help you with this.
- Lemon juice is an effective skin whitening agent. Cut the lemon into pieces and rub them on your elbows so that the juice is absorbed. Do the procedure for 15-20 minutes, then rinse your elbows and spread them with cream.
- When buying a cream or lotion, it is preferable to choose a product that contains natural natural ingredients (for example, shea butter, jojoba or macadamia).
- Vegetable oil is an excellent and inexpensive remedy for elbow skin care. You can use any - olive, peach, almond.
- You can get rid of dark spots on your elbows with raw potatoes. Potatoes need to be rubbed and the resulting mass applied to the elbows, then wrapped with a bandage or napkin. It is recommended to keep the potato mask for about half an hour.
- You can also whiten the problem area with salt baths, baking soda or ammonia. For one glass of water, take 1 small spoon of salt or soda, or 12-15 drops of ammonia. Elbows are kept in this solution for 30 minutes. Do not wipe with a towel, they should dry themselves.
- A mask of honey, aloe juice and olive oil in equal proportions helps well. Spread this mixture on your elbows and make a compress, leave it for 25 minutes.
After the bath for the elbows, it is advisable to scrub - from sour cream and salt (1: 1) or from lemon juice and soda (1 tbsp. Spoon). Scrub should be rubbed and left for a quarter of an hour. Do not forget to use nourishing creams and pumice when caring for the skin on your elbows.
If we consider cosmetic defects not only from the point of view of attractiveness, they are all a signal of a violation of the functioning of any organ. The dermis is an indicator of the state of the immune system, gastrointestinal tract and internal glands. One of these disturbing defects is the darkening of the skin on any part of the body. Quite often, beauty salons are treated with such a problem as the appearance of dark spots on the elbows.
To understand why this happens, why the skin begins to turn red or black, internal causes should be considered. Only by recognizing the main factor, you can understand how to remove dark spots or roughness on the elbows.
Elbow problems usually begin with thickening, then peeling occurs with peeling of the upper layer of the dermis. Ultimately, they become rough and darken, acquiring almost black color.
Why this happens, and how to cope with the darkening of the elbows, doctors can answer. It is quite difficult to deal with this problem on your own, since often the cause of the spots lies in some kind of disease.
Possible causes of a dark spot in the elbow area:
- lack of vitamins or trace elements in the body, seasonal beriberi - this is the most common reason when the body lacks B vitamins, which leads to pigmentation disorders, dryness, peeling, and eventually dark red spots appear;
- chronic dermatological diseases, including psoriasis - this is an incurable disease that is manifested by peeling in the joints, the skin can also change in color, crusts appear on it;
- dysfunction of the thyroid gland, hypothyroidism is a serious deviation, which is always accompanied by a change in the color of the dermis, a deterioration in its condition, in which case treatment is required, after which the problem goes away by itself;
- violation of the intestinal microflora - darkening of the elbows in this case is associated with the treatment of this disease, namely, taking antibiotics that interfere with the production of vitamin B, which causes the skin to change color;
- dehydration of the body, private traumatic injury, hypothermia, chapping.
Read also Spa procedure - paraffin therapy for hands
The cause may be other systemic diseases, especially infections, fungal infections, lichen. Diabetes mellitus can also become a major factor in the appearance of dark spots, since with this disease the skin is significantly affected, its regenerative function worsens. All of these deviations cannot be diagnosed in oneself, and before trying to remove the consequences, one should visit a doctor and identify the root cause.
Care for prevention and treatment
In some cases, this problem is not associated with diseases and the cause is the influence of adverse factors directly on the dermis. In this case, it is possible to independently cope with the problem, remove dark areas without medical help. This can be done through proper care, but in some cases a change in nutrition will be required.
Typically, this problem occurs during a period of temperature change, that is, in summer and winter. It is recommended at this time to use a daily cream to moisturize the skin of the entire surface, up to the shoulder. In the pharmacy, you can purchase special prophylactic ointments that prevent the appearance of roughness, redness and irritation. It is recommended to use them as soon as the first signs of a violation appear.
We should not forget about the importance of vitamin complexes, which should be taken regularly. To improve the condition of the epidermis, fatty and heavy foods should be excluded from your diet. Indeed, in case of violation of the functioning of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, the symptoms are reflected in the appearance.
Rough skin on the elbows may seem like a minor issue. For many, this phenomenon does not even cause discomfort, because they do not think about treatment. But changes in the skin can indicate serious internal problems that cannot be corrected by applying moisturizer to the elbow.
The skin on the elbows is thin for everyone, regardless of body size. There are no sebaceous glands in this area, so many people experience dryness and a feeling of roughness of the skin. The reasons may turn out to be commonplace: constantly resting our elbows on a table or other surface while working, we injure the thin epidermis. And if the elbows begin to dry in winter, during the heating season, the reason will be hidden in insufficient humidity in the room.
But there are a number of more serious reasons why the skin in the elbow area becomes rough and dark in color:
- Deficiency of vitamins A and E in the body.
- Diabetes.
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Dermatological diseases.
- Diseases of the endocrine system.
- Anemia.
- Hormonal disruptions.
- Pass a general and biochemical blood test.
- Check hormones.
- Visit a dermatologist's office.
- Check blood sugar levels.
If no internal problems are identified, the cause of darkening of the skin should be sought in external factors.
Treatment for rough skin on the elbows
When deciding what to do about dry and dark skin on your elbows, you can consult a dermatologist. He will prescribe drugs that restore the skin. Depending on the individual situation, such drugs can be:
- Ointments against peeling: zinc, salicylic, with birch tar.
- Moisturizing and anti-allergic creams: Gistan, Boro plus, La Cree.
- Vitamin creams: Aevit, Bepanten.
- Vitamin complexes: Centrum, Complivit, Duovit.
- Antihistamines: Suprastinex, Claritin, Zodak.
- Medicines with iron: Ferrum-lek, Sorbifer.
Carrying out home treatment with medications, it is necessary to take into account all the recommendations of the doctor. If another negative reaction appears on the skin, inform the specialist without canceling the remedy yourself. Dosage adjustments or drug changes may be required.
Folk recipes
Folk remedies will help improve the condition of the skin on the elbows. Prepared from available components, do not require much time, harmless. You can try the following home remedies:
For additional care for the skin of the elbows, use nourishing oils: olive, grape seed, coconut, even simple sunflower. They can lubricate the skin after masks or compresses. Only regular complex treatment will help you get rid of dryness and darkening of the skin in the elbow area.
Folk recipes can be alternated, and not stick to just one. But they will help if the cosmetic defect was caused by an external cause, and not by internal problems. If remedies don't help, see your doctor to understand why dry skin continues to bother you.
So that the skin does not darken and does not peel off in the future, you should follow simple recommendations for prevention.
- Drink plenty of fluids "for internal hydration". 2 liters is the average norm, but listen to the needs of your body.
- Install a humidifier during the heating season.
- Eat foods rich in vitamins A, E and C, as well as periodically drink vitamin complexes in courses.
- Take warm showers more often than hot baths to avoid aggravating dry skin.
- Use moisturizing and nourishing creams, exfoliate the skin with scrubs and light peels so that it renews itself faster.
- Do not apply shower gel or soap to the elbow area when showering or bathing.
- Avoid using cosmetics with aggressive ingredients, do not allow cleaning products to come into contact with bare skin.
- Cover your elbows when in the sun.
- A balanced diet and the rejection of alcohol, strong coffee.
Rough and dark skin on the elbows is a phenomenon that is difficult to surprise anyone. Thin skin is not protected by a fatty layer, it constantly dries up due to insufficient moisture or the habit of sitting with your elbows on the surface. Stress and lack of care most often cause darkening and peeling, but serious diseases can also cause such effects.
Darkened skin on the elbows can warn of malfunctions of the adrenal glands and thyroid gland. Dry epidermis with signs of peeling sometimes indicates a deficiency of tocopherol and retinol. Before using any bleaching compositions, you need to check the level of hormones and the concentration of vitamins A and E in the blood. Review diet and old habits. Choose the right body skin care products, because sometimes dark spots appear due to soap or cream.
Nutrition rules
The epidermis is constantly injured in those who like to lean their elbows on a table or other hard surfaces. Due to regular damage, the skin in the area of the joints becomes dry and acquires a “dirty” shade. More often these areas suffer in the summer, because in winter they are protected by tight clothing with long sleeves.
In order for the elbows to stop peeling and darkening, you need to get rid of a bad habit. During meals, hands are folded on their knees. They rest against the table only with the forearms, and the elbow joints should hang down. The upper limbs are in a similar position when working at a computer. Do not prop your chin with your fist.
You can put on an ordinary elastic band on your wrist, which is used to pull stacks of money, and for each violation of the rule, gently pull it off and let it go. This method allows you to form new reflexes and get rid of old habits.
If hormones are in order, but the elbows remain dark even with regular use of creams and scrubs, it is worth reconsidering eating habits. The skin acquires a dirty color in lovers of strict diets. With a lack of certain vitamins, substances responsible for the restoration of the upper layers of the epidermis are not produced. And then it becomes thinner, covered with microscopic cracks and begins to peel off.
For people with dark or even black elbows, foods rich in tocopherol and beta-carotene are recommended:
- fish fat;
- beef and pork liver;
- chicken and quail yolks;
- hard cheeses;
- Cod liver;
- sweet potato;
- bell pepper and broccoli;
- carrots and lettuce;
- spinach and green peas;
- apricots and melons;
- blueberries and dried fruits;
- fresh rose hips and sesame seeds;
- pumpkin and legumes;
- beef, turkey and natural cow's milk.
Dishes with tocopherol and beta-carotene should be seasoned with vegetable or butter, or sour cream. Fats are essential for the absorption of nutrients. Without them, there will be no positive results.
Baths and the right cream
If the elbows not only darkened, but became dry and rough to the touch, they need moisturizing. Any nourishing cream that contains jojoba, macadamia, shea or apricot oils will do.
Herbal baths have brightening properties:
- yarrow;
- dandelion;
- stems and roots of parsley.
You can add a little honey or glycerin to the decoctions. Sometimes warm cow's milk is used instead of water. The natural base not only brightens the darkened areas, but also perfectly moisturizes, starting the regeneration of the upper layers of the epidermis. Bleaching solutions are prepared from 1 liter of any liquid and 50–60 g of plants.
Soda copes with the "patch" on the elbows. The food supplement is mixed with a small amount of liquid soap or shower gel. Pour into warm water and stir to form foam. Elbows are dipped in a brightening composition for 10-15 minutes, and then gently treated with pumice to remove a layer of keratinized skin.
After the procedure, a mixture of coconut oil, almond, olive and glycerin is rubbed into dry areas. Wrap elbows with bandages and cling film to create the effect of a steam bath. The nourishing mask is left for 6-8 hours. A soda bath is done once a week so that the skin has time to recover. Herbs can be used more often. They are not so aggressive and whiten problem areas more gently.
Ammonia has bleaching properties. For 2 liters of water heated to 37–40 degrees, you will need 30–40 ml of the product. Plus 2 tsp. liquid soap. The solution is divided into two parts, poured into wide bowls and elbows are dipped into it for 20 minutes. After the procedure, the problem areas are rinsed with warm water and a nourishing cream is rubbed into the darkened epidermis.
Lotions and compresses
In order for the "penny" to disappear in 3-4 weeks, the baths are combined with lotions. The cheapest option is potato. You will need a medium-sized tuber. It must be cleaned of dirt. Cut in half and applied to the elbows.
The starch found in potato juice has bleaching and moisturizing properties. If the skin on the elbows is not only darkened, but also constantly covered with cracks, you need to prepare a disinfecting mask. The tuber is no longer cut, but crushed and mixed with honey. Proportions 2 to 1.
The mass is laid out on "pyataki" and fixed with compress paper or a bandage with cling film. The potato composition should be kept for 8-10 hours, so the lotion is often used before bedtime. And in the morning, wash off and rub a cream with a whitening effect into the dark areas.
It is useful to treat elbows with a scrub. For "dirty" stains, two options are recommended:
- Salt and soda, mixed in equal proportions. Dilute with shower gel or liquid soap.
- Coffee grounds and honey. Exact proportions are not required. The main thing is to get a thick gruel.
If oils and aloe do not work, it is worth resorting to the help of lemon. A slice of citrus is tied to the "penny" for 30-40 minutes. And after the procedure, Vaseline is rubbed into problem areas, because fruit acids dry out the skin.
To make the elbows lighter by several tones, you need to regularly use baths, scrubs and cream. Eat a diet rich in vitamin A and tocopherol. And if the skin does not change color, be sure to consult a doctor, because dark patches can indicate serious health problems.
Video: super remedy for dark elbows and knees
In different parts of the human body, the skin differs in density, thickness of the epidermal layer, and hence in properties. Elbows and knees suffer from constant friction, the skin in these places becomes coarse, dark, rough, looks untidy and unpleasant to the touch. There are many ways to get rid of black elbows, but they all require patience and an integrated approach to solving the problem.
Why are the elbows dark and rough
The habit of leaning on the elbows while eating, working at the computer, leisure leads to the fact that the skin in these places becomes dense, rough, new cells grow unevenly. Even at a young age, the skin on the elbows can look much older than biological age.
Additional causes of dark sloppy elbows are:
- Hypovitaminosis. The deficiency of vitamin A, E, C, D has a particularly strong effect on the skin condition;
- Thyroid dysfunction - lack of hormones;
- Skin diseases
Before you start looking for recipes that allow you to make the skin on your elbows soft, lighten it and return your elbows to a neat healthy appearance, you should exclude possible pathologies.
Diseases require, first of all, complex treatment, after which unpleasant symptoms will also go away.
How to whiten elbows at home
Before trying recipes that eliminate dark spots on the elbows, you should pay close attention to everyday behavior, the way you sit during work and rest.
If you analyze the load on the skin of the elbows during the day, it becomes obvious that the hands are in the position of resting the elbows on the table, the back of the chair or sofa are quite often. This habit must be fought!
In addition, clothing made of tough coarse fabric rubs the elbows while wearing, injuring the skin. This triggers the mechanism of cell coarsening, their excessive division and the development of hyperkeratosis - thickening of the skin in a certain place. In this case, on the elbows.
Taking vitamin complexes in spring and autumn will not be superfluous; you should give preference to balanced preparations designed to maintain beauty and health ("Cosmetic", "Beauty").
Vitamins enter the body with food, so the diet must contain:
- Vegetables and fruits rich in carotene (red and orange) - carrots, peppers, apples, pumpkin, beets, sweet potatoes, viburnum;
- Broccoli, wild garlic, garlic, seaweed, lettuce, spinach, potatoes;
- Sour cream, cottage cheese, butter, melted cheese and cheese;
- Vegetable oils;
- Nuts;
- Liver, pork (lard and meat), chicken;
- Salmon, herring, seafood
Alternative treatment of black elbows
Ways to eliminate dryness and darkening of the elbows are varied.
Lemon acid
Citric acid has a whitening effect on the skin. Lemon juice is used to combat freckles and age spots, it will also help with black elbows.
Mix a little oatmeal with sour milk until the consistency of thick porridge, add lemon juice, apply on the skin of the elbows. Top cover with a gauze napkin. After 15-20 minutes, rinse with warm water, lubricate the skin with a rich nourishing cream.
If the skin on the elbows is excessively dry, prone to cracking, you should choose another method.
Cucumber
cucumber juice contains a large amount of acids, has a whitening effect, therefore it is used in the fight against black elbows.
Small pieces of fresh cucumber are applied to the skin of the elbows for 15 minutes, wrapped with cling film on top.
Cereals
Oatmeal not only a healthy dish that allows you to normalize digestion and maintain optimal body weight, but also a skin lightening agent.
Oat flakes are poured with warm milk or water, left for 10 minutes to swell, after which they are applied to the skin of the elbow joints, covering the top with polyethylene.
The duration of the procedure and the frequency are not of fundamental importance.
Egg yolk
Egg yolk carefully separated from the protein, add 2 tbsp. l. glycerin (it is sold in a pharmacy), lightly beat until smooth and lubricate the elbows with the resulting mixture.
The procedure allows not only to lighten the skin, but also to make it softer, more pleasant to the touch.
A decoction of burdock
Burdock is not only a weed that grows everywhere, but also a medicinal plant widely used in folk and traditional medicine.
A decoction of burdock is prepared as follows: 2 tbsp. l. crushed leaves or rhizomes of burdock pour 0.2 liters of water and simmer for 15 minutes.
The broth must be insisted for another 40 minutes, strained and used to prepare baths.
Burr oil
Easier and more efficient. Before applying it, it is recommended to steam out the elbows, remove the keratinized skin with a scrub and a stiff brush, and then apply burdock oil, rubbing it into the skin with massage movements.
bread crumb
A good cosmetic effect is given by the use of bread crumb (you need black bread “brick”, it is its crumb that has high acidity), soaked in milk or yogurt (kefir).
Whitening baths
For the preparation of whitening baths, sauerkraut, whey, sour cream are used - the acid contained in these products brightens dark problematic skin.
A decoction of oatmeal, potato or corn starch is used as a cosmetic product: elbow baths lasting 15-20 minutes will significantly refresh the skin.
drinking soda
If the skin on the elbows is not prone to dryness, cracking, peeling, then blackness can be removed by mechanical action.
A bath is pre-prepared: 1 tsp is required for 1 liter of water. drinking soda and 1 tsp. table salt.
Elbows are kept in water for 15 minutes, then softened particles of the epithelium are removed with a brush, a hard washcloth.
Cosmetic little shea, jojoba, peach oil will help soften irritated dry skin of the elbows. In the absence of essential oils, you can use olive oil, vitamins A and E in capsules.
What to do if there is no time and opportunity to prepare decoctions, solutions, baths? Buy an ointment or cream with a whitening effect at the pharmacy and regularly lubricate the skin of your elbows.
Cosmetic procedures with their constant use will give the desired effect, but the body needs help in the form of vitamins. In addition, it is very important to reduce the load on the elbows, not to lean when working at the computer, sitting on the couch, at the table.
